Brian Statham

(John) Brian Statham (born June 17, 1930, Manchester; died June 10, 2000, Stockport, Cheshire) was one of the finest bowlers in the history of cricket. Initially a bowler of a brisk fast-medium pace, Statham was able to remodel his action to generate enough speed to become genuinely fast. This, together with unflagging accuracy and the ability to make the ball - new or old - break back, made Statham a consistent force both for Lancashire in the County Championship and in Test cricket, where his strikepower helped give England its strongest attack of the twentieth century during the 1950s. In all, he took 252 wickets in Test matches, a tally bettered only by Freddie Trueman at the time.

Related Topics:
June 17 - 1930 - Manchester - June 10 - 2000 - Stockport - Cheshire - Bowlers - Cricket - County Championship - Test cricket - 1950s - Freddie Trueman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Statham was remarkably gentlemanly for a fast bowler and would almost never bowl a bouncer (and warn the batsmen beforehand if he did!), but his straight, full-length bowling could easily hit a batsman on the foot. Statham was also a brilliantly athletic out-fielder who was ideally suited to the one-day game when it emerged in the later part of his career.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~